Influential Journal Publishes New PhD’s Research

Christine Gimbar finds success as both scholar and teacher

Christine Gimbar has only been teaching at DePaul University for a little over a year, but the assistant professor of accountancy is already making a name for herself. The recent PhD from Virginia Tech has published her first paper in The Accounting Review, one of the most recognized journals in the industry.

Gimbar’s co-written paper “The Effects of Critical Audit Matter Paragraphs and Accounting Standard Precision on Auditor Liability,” appeared in the November issue of the influential academic journal that targets thought leaders of accounting. Published by the American Accounting Association (AAA), The Accounting Review receives about 500 new submissions per year, with an acceptance rate of less than 10 percent.

“It’s a great honor to have been published,” says Gimbar. “Getting published in The Accounting Review is like having lightning strike.”

John Ahern, interim director of the School of Accountancy and MIS, says the school is “delighted to have Christine as a teacher and extremely proud of her outstanding scholarship.

“The Accounting Review is the most rigorous and respected academic journal in the entire accounting profession,” Ahern notes. “The fact that she was able to publish her research in The Accounting Review in just her first year as a professor is just amazing.”

Offers to work on more research projects have been increasing since her publication in The Accounting Review. Gimbar is currently juggling seven projects in collaboration with contributors.

Scholarship that Complements Teaching

Gimbar savors being a teacher as much as she does her scholarship success. “What has surprised me about the first year of teaching is how the students are in class,” she says. “They are so much more involved at DePaul, so that classes are more of a discussion than a lecture.”

The small classes allow Gimbar to “flip the classroom,” an innovative teaching technique where students watch lectures on video for homework and come to class prepared to apply their knowledge to real-world problems.

Gimbar teaches introductory accounting courses for undergraduate business students and keeps a keen eye out for future accountants. “I encourage all students to become accounting majors at the beginning of the quarter, but as I watch certain students emerge, I push them to become accounting majors. I look for students who have great organization skills and those who understand accounting concepts, but like to solve problems. That’s what accounting is—problem solving.”

The topic of her most recent research – novice auditor development – complements her work as a teacher who prepares aspiring accountants for their profession. She is currently examining how new auditors in an accounting firm develop in those early years, how they’re coached by their superiors, how poor performers can improve, and how can we coach the poor performers to get better instead of them leaving. She is particularly interested in how novice auditors interact with older individuals whether it is face-to-face or through emails.

“What I would like to provide to the accounting community are strong accountants with a good basis in conceptual accounting and a sound moral fiber,” says Gimbar. “I would also like to enhance audit quality through my research and improve auditor behaviors.”